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Nats' Lo Duca may miss 6 weeks

Nationals catcher Paul Lo Duca was scheduled to have surgery on his left knee Monday to repair a minor meniscus tear.

Lo Duca will see a team doctor on Monday "for further testing," general manager Jim Bowden wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press on Sunday.

"If an operation is indicated," Bowden continued, "it will be arthroscopic and the estimated recovery time would be four to six weeks."

* Catcher Mike Lieberthal has decided to retire after a 14-year big-league career with the Phillies and Dodgers. "I'm done," he said. Lieberthal, 36, hit .274 with 150 homers and played in two All-Star Games.

*In the strongest indication yet that a deal for Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard is getting close, the Mariners have asked prized outfield prospect Adam Jones to return to the U.S. from winter ball in Venezuela, FoxSports.com reported.

Jones is the centerpiece of the Mariners' offer for Bedard, and the team would not want him to risk injury by continuing to play if the trade was imminent.